This is kind of interesting. It may not seem like a memory or history but it'll get there in a minute. Besides, the memory and history thing is not a rule written in stone.

Nick Adams(7/10/1931-2/7/1968) played the part of Johnny Yuma on T.V.'s "THE REBEL", (1959-1961). He had the role of Chick in "REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE"(1955) starring James Dean and Natalie Wood.

Nick Adams also co-starred as Pvt. Benjamin B. Whitledge alongside Andy Griffith in the movie "NO TIME FOR SERGEANTS"(1958).

The novel  "NO TIME FOR SERGEANTS " was written by  Mac Hyman who was born in Cordele, Ga.

Mac Hyman grew up, in Cordele,  on 12th Ave., sortof across the street from the First Methodist Church. His Daddy and Mama ran the Western Auto store uptown on, 7th St., across from the Chevrolet place. I think they were pretty nice folks, at least they always were to me.

I used to be the ticket taker and the marquee changer at the Crisp Theater, also on 12th Ave.,  behind the Ford place. I did that for 3 years until I graduated from high school in 1962.  

The box office and concession stand would close 15 minutes after the last feature of the night started and I was stuck in the boxoffice 'til closing which was usually around midnight.  That was when I generally did my homework. I'm sortof getting off track here. More about those days later.
 
Some Sunday nights Mac Hyman and his lovely wife would come to see a picture show.  After the box office closed Mr. Hyman would occasionally come to the lobby to smoke a cigarette and would sometimes bum a light from me. I would light one too and we would talk a little while we smoked. I don't remember what we talked about. It was probably about the weather or something else unimportant like the rising price of cigarettes and how we were going to quit as soon as the price hit 50 cents. It cost 50 cents to get in the picture show then. When I was 11 it was only a dime. 

In addition to "No Time For Sergeants" Mr. Hyman wrote "TAKE NOW THY SON" which was published by Random House in 1965, after his death. I didn't know about that novel until my sister told me about it years later. I read it a few years ago. The descriptions of Callville were reminiscent of Cordele. I can't describe the feeling I had while reading it. It wasn't astonishment  or anything like that. Maybe it was pride. Anyway I really enjoyed that book. If you haven't read it try to find a copy. I think you'll be glad you did.

Buy new, used, and hard-to-find books at Alibris! 

There were two other theaters in Cordele in my pre-teen and early teen years, the Wood's Theater on 11th Ave., sortof across from Roobins' department store, and the Cordele Theater on 8th St. across from where the old train station used to be. You could get in the Woods Theater for a nickle then but for another nickle you could go to the Crisp where they had air conditioning. Also, you could get a soft drink to go with your popcorn instead of having to go back and forth to the water fountain. And too, the Woods' popcorn was prepackaged while the Crisp's was freshly poped and you couldn't hardly get through the lobby without the smell grabbing you and pulling you over to the counter.

A young fellow could get in the Crisp to see all the pictures FREE if he would put  50 of the next weeks program on the windshields of cars around town. I did that.  And I don't think I missed a single picture until I graduated.

I can't remember for sure just how young I was but I'm thinking I was 12 because that's the age I had to start paying adult admission. I put out programs until  I started working there as a ticket taker when I was about 15.  I was called an usher then  but what I was was a ticket taker and  marquee changer.

I didn't go to the Woods Theater much anymore, unless there was a picture I really wanted to see, because I had to pay to get in and I didn't like popcorn without a Coke to wash it down with. Still don't. 

I only went to the Cordele Theater a couple or three times. It had sortof a funny smell and you would see an occasional rat run across the asile. I only went there those times because there was a picture I REALLY wanted to see. One was  " The Man Who Could Walk throught Walls". I don't reckon I have to tell you what that was about.

When I was just 7 and in the second grade I met a cute little girl at school and she wanted to meet at the Woods Theater on Saturday. And  we did. She wanted to hold hands and we did. Then she wanted us to sneak down in the seats, stick our heads over the armrest and kiss and we did. And I  liked kissing girls from then on.

She was in the 1st grade and I was in the 2nd and on the next Monday she brought me an apple to my school room just as school was starting. She knocked on the door and my teacher opened the door. I was called to the door and I had to go to the door to get the apple. Everybody was quite while I walked to the door and everybody teased me about it.  But I didn't care. I was a little embarrased though. Just a little.  I was just 7.

I tried to call her on the phone once but her mother wouldn't let me talk to her. Soon after that they moved out of town. I wondered if it was because of me. I was just 7.

Back in those days there was a thing called a drive-in theater where you could go with your whole family to watch a picture in your car.  In the summertime you would have to fight the mosquitos and in the wintertime you would have to keep the fog wiped off the windshield.  There was a lot of cars with foggy windshields that the people weren't keeping up with the fog wiping. 

When I was about 5, maybe 6, I went with my Mama and Daddy to see Lash LaRue at the Cordele Drive-in. Lash LaRue was a cowboy that dressed in black and used a whip to bring bad guys to justice. He and his sidekick, Fuzzy Q. Jones, put on a whipping good show on top of the concession stand/projection booth  building. I think that was before the picture started. 

After the picture was over, or maybe during  intermission, they sold autographed pictures, toy whips and cowboy hats. Daddy bought me a whip. I don't remember if I got a cowboy hat or a picture but when I got home I whipped all the bad doors in the house. I went to bed that night thinking that I was just as good as Lash LaRue.

A friend of mine, R.S., tells me he saw Lash LaRue at the Crisp Theater when he was little. I must have missed that show. I bet it was a good one too.

The Cordele Drive-in was located on U.S. 41 South just outside the city limits just past John N Edna's (drive in restuarant) and next to the bowling alley. I don't remember just when it was closed down but another drive-in theater opened on what is now known as Farmers Market Road which is North of town and connects U.S. 41 to I-75. That road used to be  called Tremont Rd. They changed the name so truckers would know where to get off of I-75 to go to the State Farmers Market. Don'cha know?

I had moved away from Cordele then but it seems like I may have went to that drive-in one time with the Mama of my children and her little sister but I may have dreamed that.

I think that drive-in closed pretty quick because people just quit going to drive-ins everywhere along that time. Probably had something to do with air conditioning or mosquitos. But I doubt fog on the windshields was a reason.

I have learned through Wikipedia and links from that site that there are some drivein theaters still in operation. So I guess they are making a comeback in a small way. I think some have more than one screen so they can show more movies. Like the multiplexes. They also have the sound piped in through the car's FM radio. Ain't that something? 

(click on the address below to go to a page that I found very interesting. Hit the back button when you're done there so you can come back here
                  http://www.hsgng.org/pages/pictureshowcowboy.htm
this is a page located in the website of the HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF THE GEORGIA NATIONAL GUARD)